Futurity & Maturity Requirements and Rules and Bitch Nomination Form

Requirements and Rules

The Futurity is sponsored by the American Whippet Club and is exclusively for the competition of puppies and juniors between 6 months and 18 months of age.

The Futurity is open to all breeders of AKC registered whippets in good standing with the American Kennel Club and the American Whippet Club.

The Maturity is sponsored by the American Whippet Club and is open to any member of a litter which was nominated for the Futurity the year prior to the Maturity. Maturity Classes shall be Maturity Dogs and Maturity Bitches. The Futurity Judge will also judge the Maturity Dog and Maturity Bitch Class, following the selection of Best in Futurity. The winner of Maturity Dog Class and Maturity Bitch Class shall compete for Best in Maturity. The Maturity will be held starting with the 2017 AWC National (this change voted in by the general membership on 04/24/14). Maturity pedigrees shall not be printed in the Futurity Catalog.

Puppies that are eligible for the 2016 Futurity must be out of Futurity nominated bitches and whelped on or after October 23, 2014 and on or before October 23, 2015. Nominated litters whelped in the year following that date will be eligible for the 2017 Futurity and the 2018 Maturity.

The bitch must be nominated prior to whelping. The official Bitch Nomination Form, along with the fee of $30 (effective for the 2016 Futurity) and copies of current CERF/OFA eye exam certificates for both the sire and dam, must be sent to the Futurity Chairman and postmarked prior to the whelping date.

OFA eye exams for both the sire and dam must have been completed before the breeding date. (This was effective starting with the 2012 Futurity). Copies of OFA Eye Exam Certificates or a copy of the application for an OFA Eye Exam Certificate (the actual exam paperwork marked normal in both eyes) must be submitted for both the sire and dam with the Bitch Nomination Form. OFA eye examinations are valid for one year. If an exam copy is submitted with the bitch nomination, the actual OFA certificate must be submitted with the litter nomination.

If the sire or dam of the litter being nominated is 9 years of age or older, a current CERF/OFA eye exam is not required for that dog. HOWEVER, the dog must have had and passed at least one eye exam at age 8 or older. A copy of a CERF/OFA certificate from an examination done after 8 years of age must be submitted with the Bitch Nomination Form.

Late bitch nominations are accepted if they are postmarked prior to the litter turning 6 weeks old. The fee for a late nomination is $75. Breeders of late nominated bitches waive their right to nominate and vote for the Futurity Judge.

The official Litter Nomination Form, along with the fee of $35 (effective for the 2016 Futurity) and a four- generation pedigree, must be postmarked prior to the litter turning 3 months old.

To enter the Futurity, puppies must be entered in a Regular Conformation Class with the appropriate Futurity Class marked as an ‘additional’ class at the AWC National for which they were nominated and are eligible. The same requirements apply to the Maturity.

Puppies are only eligible to be shown in one Futurity; the first Futurity at which they are at least 6 months of age. Puppies are only eligible to be shown in one Maturity.

Futurity Classes will be divided according to age and sex as follows:

Dogs 6-8 months

Dogs 8-10 months

Dogs 10-12 Months

Dogs 12-15 Months

Dogs 15-18 Months

Bitches 6-8 months

Bitches 8-10 months

Bitches 10-12 Months

Bitches 12-15 Months

Bitches 15-18 Months

The winner of each class will compete for Best In Futurity.

In the event that the date of the AWC National is later in April than the previous year, the age limit shall be increased and the nominees affected shall be eligible for competition in the 15-18 Month classes.

The Futurity Judge is chosen by a two-step process by breeders of nominated bitches who are members in good standing of the American Whippet Club.

Step 1: Judge nomination forms are sent to the First AWC Member listed as breeder on the Bitch Nomination Form. For each nominated bitch, the breeder/or breeders may submit one slate of two names. One nomination form will be accepted for each bitch nominated. Once those breeders have nominated their choice(s), they may not nominate anyone else during the current year. It is up to the breeder(s) to decide which litter for which they wish to be considered eligible if they are listed as a breeder or co-breeder on other litters. All eligible breeders must nominate two (2) different names of individuals who meet the qualification of “hands on experience” with the Whippet breed. These people must be in good standing with the AKC.

Step 2: Ballots will then be sent to the first AWC Member listed as breeder on the Bitch Nomination Form. The breeder or breeders will select one (1) name from the final list of a minimum of six (6) names. The nominees will be queried as to their willingness to judge the event by the sequence established in the balloting process. The Futurity/Maturity judge will be the person receiving the most votes.The alternate Judge will be the person who received the next greatest number of votes and who agrees to be the alternate judge.

Breeders who submit late bitch nominations forfeit their right to vote for the Futurity Judge.

Prize Money – 35% of entry & nomination fees will be retained by the Futurity for expenses. 35% of the remainder will be given to the Best In Futurity winner. The remainder will be divided as follows: 40% for First Place, 30% for Second Place, 20% for Third Place and 10% for Fourth Place in each class. Prize money shall be awarded to the breeder/breeders only. If an owner or exhibitor of the winning dog is not the breeder, and the breeder is not present, a check will be mailed directly to the breeder. It is between the breeders, exhibitors and owners to decide possession of any awards or cash prizes presented for any wins.

For the Maturity, 35% of entry fees shall be retained by the Futurity for expenses, 35% of the remainder shall be rewarded to Best in Maturity. The remainder will be divided as follows: 40% for First Place, 30% for Second Place, 20% for Third Place and 10% for Fourth Place in each class. Prize money shall be awarded to the breeder/breeders only. If an owner or exhibitor of the winning dog is not the breeder, and the breeder is not present, a check will be mailed directly to the breeder. It is between the breeders, exhibitors and owners to decide possession of any awards or cash prizes presented for any wins.

Entry fees will be retained in the event a nominated bitch or puppy is found to be ineligible under any of the above conditions.

SPECIAL NOTICE FROM CERF:

"After nearly 30 years of working towards the elimination of heritable eye disease in dogs, The Canine Eye Registration Foundation will stop accepting new registrations for the CERF registry on June 15, 2014. Our on-line registry will continue to be available for approximately the next year after which CERF records will be able via the OFA website. CERF would like to thank all of our breeders and dog lovers for their continued support over these many years. Please direct any questions and/or concerns that you may have to CERF@vmdb.org."

Submission Information

Bitch Nomination Fee

$30.00 with nomination made while bitch is in whelp and so postmarked. Late bitch nominations will be accepted if postmarked before the litter is 6 weeks old. The fee for this late nomination is $75.00. Breeders of late nominated bitches waive their right to vote for the Futurity Judge.

Litter Nomination Fee

$35.00 to nominate the entire litter. The litter nomination must be made before the litter has reached 3 months of age and must be so postmarked. Litter nomination forms are automatically sent. Contact the Futurity Chairman if you have not received litter forms by the time your puppies are 2 months old.

Individual Puppy Nomination

Entry into the appropriate Futurity class at the AWC National is considered to be the individual nomination of the puppy. If the puppy was not entered in the appropriate Futurity Class, entry into the appropriate Maturity Class the following year shall be considered the individual nomination of the puppy.

ENTRIES MUST BE MADE ON OFFICIAL FORMS AND IN U.S. FUNDS ONLY

Make checks payable to AWC Futurity and mail the completed application directly to: